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MLSA Executive Director Alison Paul, Development Director Michelle Potts, and Board Member Andy Patten recently traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with Montana's US and Congressional Delegation. Over the course of two days, MLSA's staff met with Senator Tester, Senator Daines, and Representative Gianforte, first at the weekly Montana Coffee (pictured below) and then in individual meetings. We were honored to meet with each Senator and Representative and their staff and grateful that they took time out of their busy day to listen as we shared the stories of civil legal aid in Montana.

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We live in a large state and MLSA leverages technology so that people can access free legal help, no matter their zip code.

Here are some updates for how MLSA has improved our services and made it easier for Montanans to access free legal help:

MLSA has a brand new mobile friendly online application. Montanans can now apply for free legal help while on the bus, in a waiting room, or at their dinner table. Check out the new mobile friendly intake!

MontanaLawHelp.org is now mobile friendly and will fit any device, whether a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. Grab your smartphone and check out the mobile friendly MontanaLawHelp.org!

You can now subscribe to get SMS alerts for new resources on MontanaLawHelp.org. Look for the “Subscribe via SMS” button on Montana Law Help.

MLSA developed brand new interactive family law forms, including petitions for parenting plan and/or divorce and a notice of intent to move. The interactive forms break down the information into smaller bits so it’s easier to complete a legal document, and provide a little more help than a write-in-the-blank form. You can find the new interactive forms in the Families & Kids section on MontanaLawHelp.org.

Last but not least, MLSA developed a Legal Self Help Landing page that you can download as a desktop shortcut so that caseworkers, patrons, and customers can easily find legal help for their problem. Find the Legal Self Help Landing Page at http://www.montanalawhelp.org//self-help.

If you have any questions or comments about our technology initiatives, please contact the Community Outreach Assistant, Alex Clark, at aclark@mtlsa.org.

]]>As of yesterday, the IRS is accepting ITIN renewals for anyone who has an ITIN that will expire at the end of 2017. ITINs with middle digits of 70, 71, 72 or 80 and ITINs that have been not been used in the last three years will expire at the end of 2017.

If you have a tax problem and need legal help, Montana Legal Services Association's Low Income Tax Clinic may be able to assist you. Please contact 1-800-666-6899 to see if you are eligible for free tax law help.

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Helena- The Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) recently received a competitive award from the Mary Byron Project for its innovative domestic violence prevention efforts. MLSA received a cash award of $10,000. The Mary Byron Project has made the prestigious Celebrating Solutions award annually for fourteen years.

MLSA’s award was in recognition of the Survivor's Legal Project, which works to provide civil legal services free of charge to empower domestic violence survivors. Project attorneys help low income survivors obtain orders of protection, parenting plans, child support orders and other family law court orders distributing property and ensuring family security and stability. Research shows that the number one public service that reduces domestic abuse in the long term is women's access to legal assistance. MLSA utilizes innovative technology to expand the Project’s reach to survivors in isolated and remote areas of Montana that otherwise could not be reached. MLSA’s website, www.MontanaLawHelp.org provides information on a variety of legal issues relevant to survivors and includes informational articles, links to various resources and interactive court forms. To reach people without Internet access or who are fearful of using home computers, MLSA partners with the Montana Supreme Court to establish legal information kiosks in libraries, courthouses and other public places. Trained staff at these self-help kiosks help users find legal information. MLSA continues to incorporate new technological advances to enhance traditional forms of service delivery.

The Mary Byron Project, fostering innovations and strategies to end domestic violence, was established in memory of the young woman whose murder led to the creation of VINE, Victim Information and Notification Everyday. As a nationally recognized thought leader on domestic violence, the Mary Byron Project cultivates and supports efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this epidemic and help build a safer and healthier society. Learn more at www.marybyronproject.org.

The Survivors Legal Project is just one way that MLSA provides equal justice to all Montanans. Civil legal aid from MLSA assures fairness for all in the justice system, regardless of how much money a person has, and helps Montanans protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families.

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Helena- The Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) recently received a contract from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe under their Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. MLSA will receive $40,604 over two years to fund the Tribal Survivors Legal Project to provide civil legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

American Indian survivors of domestic violence have limited access to representation for civil legal needs, leaving them stuck feeling they cannot escape abusive situations. One landmark study has concluded that the single most important factor in determining whether a woman escapes domestic abuse is her access to civil legal services. The CTAS contract will provide additional funding for civil legal services for survivors of domestic violence, so survivors can break free from violence. MLSA will partner with the Northern Cheyenne Healing Hearts domestic violence program to help women escape violence.

The tribal Survivors Legal Project is just one way that MLSA provides equal justice to all Montanans. Civil legal aid from MLSA assures fairness for all in the justice system, regardless of how much money a person has, and helps Montanans protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families.

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Dillon- The Women’s Resource Center and the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) recently received a grant to the Women’s Resource Center from the Office of Violence Against Women Rural Domestic Violence program in the amount of $327,918, to be disbursed over three years.

This funding has helped MLSA hire attorney Bree Williamson, a resident of Dillon, to provide comprehensive legal services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence for referrals from the Women’s Resource Center. Ms. Williamson will work in the Women’s Resource Center offices in Dillon.

Last year, the Women’s Resource Center worked with 129 survivors in the Beaverhead and Madison Counties. Services the Women’s Resource Center provides includes crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy, safe shelter, emergency financial and material assistance, civil legal and criminal justice advocacy and representation, court accompaniment, hospital and law enforcement accompaniment, and safety planning. MLSA helped 2,341 survivors and their children statewide in 2016, providing representation and help with orders of protection, property settlement, child support, and other domestic violence related civil legal matters. One landmark study has concluded that the single most important factor in determining whether a woman escapes domestic abuse is her access to civil legal services. The collaboration between the Women’s Resource Center and MLSA will help reach even more individuals experiencing domestic violence and provide them with more comprehensive legal services.

The Women’s Resource Center strives to provide opportunities to enrich the quality of people's lives in Beaverhead and Madison Counties and promotes non-violent, non-confrontational solutions to conflict by providing crisis intervention, ongoing supportive advocacy, and community education and awareness.

MLSA is a non-profit statewide law firm that empowers low-income people by providing legal information, advice, and other services free of charge. Civil legal aid from MLSA assures fairness for all in the justice system, regardless of how much money a person has, and helps Montanans protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families.

“We abolished incarceration of people who failed to pay their debts centuries ago. Do we want to return to the days of debtor’s prison?”

MLSA Housing Attorney Amy Halls visited the Montana Legislature on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 to testify against Senate Bills 239 and 255. If passed, the two bills would allow tenants who abandon rentals without giving notice to be charged with theft and would allow landlords to ask courts to collect money from tenants who have judgements against them until the amount owed is paid in full.

Based on her years of experience as a housing attorney at MLSA, Hall knows that these laws could have major repercussions for tenants throughout Montana. While recognizing the difficult position landlords are put in when their tenants miss rent payments, she says that the two bills go too far in targeting tenants. “You can’t go to jail for debts on unpaid bills, but this [bill] would change that,” Hall testified. “We abolished incarceration of people who failed to pay their debts centuries ago. Do we want to return to the days of debtor’s prison?”

Instead, Hall says that we need to ensure that our justice system provides comparable remedies to tenants who have been wronged by a landlord, just as it provides remedies to landlords. To read more about Senate Bills 239 and 255, click here.

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http://www.mtlsa.org/2017/03/irs-refunds-for-montanans-filed-2013-taxes/#respondWed, 01 Mar 2017 21:03:26 +0000http://www.mtlsa.org/?p=7184…

If you can't get your 2013 wage information from your employer, you can request information from the IRS to help you file. For help filing your taxes, visit: www.MontanaFreeFile.org.

If you have a tax problem and need legal help, Montana Legal Services Association's Low Income Tax Clinic may be able to assist you. Please contact 1-800-666-6899 to see if you are eligible for free tax law help.